As a starting point, the task repeatedly arises of individualizing, in the most diverse ways, products that have already been prefabricated in relatively large numbers, be it a semi-finished product or an article that is manufactured in any desired manner. The individualization may be a serial number, a signature or another item of personal information, but it is equally conceivable for the individualization to serve to provide the product with a protection against copying.
WO 2013/154723 A1, discloses a method and a product in which insert parts are encapsulated by additive manufacturing. First, and preferably likewise additively, a base is manufactured onto or into which the subsequently embedded insert part is introduced. The method is intended for the simultaneous processing of 10 to 40 parts, wherein a UV-curing material is ejected in layers and applied in order to embed the insert part. There is no provision for individualization to result in the respective single product from a plurality of identical prefabricated products.
WO 2014/005591 A1 discloses providing, on a product that is manufactured by the injection molding of plastics, a mounting surface on which a further part, subsequently detachable from this product again, is applied by additive manufacture such that individually shaped components are produced. The objective is a high degree of freedom in shaping, while at the same time producing a reliable connection between the components of the starting product and the further component that is manufactured on the mounting surface.
WO 2010/071445 A1 discloses manufacturing complex parts using 3D techniques and then injection molding around them. To put it another way, a 3D printed product is taken as the basis and a surface is then applied thereto by injection molding it on as appropriate. The objective is to obtain a surface as in the case of an end product that is manufactured by injection molding, but without individualization.
US 2001/0035597 A1 discloses the application of marks, including those in three dimensions, to semiconductor products by stereolithography, in order in this way to determine the position and orientation of the semiconductors during the processing procedure.
An additive manufacturing method for the application of drops that are joined together is known in particular from EP 1 886 793 A1. There, a plasticizing unit that is known in the injection molding technique and which prepares, mixes and homogenizes the material is coupled to a pressurizable material reservoir. In order to produce an article on an object carrier, this material is discharged in the form of drops, via a discharge opening. Because of the adhesive forces of the material and the required small drop size, in the range of 0.01 to 0.05 mm3, in this case a pressure at a level of more than 10 to 100 MPa is required with high melting points. However, the plasticizing unit has the advantage that conventional injection molding materials can be used, since as a result of the preparation raw materials of this kind, which are usually free-flowing, can be put in a liquid aggregate condition. Moreover, the temperature of the material and that of the applied drops can be influenced such that an optimum connection is made between the drop and the substrate.